


Lose Your Sin In Justice

by darkforetold



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Arguing, Blackwatch Era, M/M, Makeup Sex, Overwatch Retribution, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 05:44:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14349153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkforetold/pseuds/darkforetold
Summary: Jesse and Gabriel clash after the Venice Incident.Gabriel narrowed his eyes. The cut of McCree’s eyes down the length of his nose, his chin notched up just enough to be arrogant and spiteful—everything, to his posture, chest puffed out and spine straight, to the stern expression on his face, told him that Jesse McCree, in all his twenty-nine years of life, knew better than Gabriel did. Like Jesse was the one on higher moral ground.He laughed mirthlessly. “You know, Jesse. You sure do have a high opinion of yourself.”





	Lose Your Sin In Justice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eastwood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eastwood/gifts).



> To eastwood: This fic would be much worse if you hadn't agreed to being my last-minute beta. You shaped my messy jumble of words, cleaned them up, and made them really sing. Thank you for being the Jesse to my Gabriel, for always supporting me and my work, and always humoring me on twitter. Fandom has been a much better place with you in it.

  


Gabriel stormed down the hallway toward his room, his footfalls heavy, purposeful, each punctuated with an angry echo of tile. He intended to lick his wounds from the reaming he’d just gotten from Jack and Ana, from the disappointed looks Gerard pointed his way—but someone else had a different plan.

As soon as he got to his room, he could sense him. The spice of his cigar hit his nose first, then he felt the sting of his glare hooking into his skin. Gabriel didn’t look at him, ignored him even, as he crossed the room to the bed. McCree was quick on his heels like an angry dog ready to attack. 

“Guess you want a chunk out of my ass, too,” Gabriel said. It was a dry, almost acidic response to that glare, steadfast as it was hot and smoldering. 

“You’re damn right I do—” 

“Do us both a favor and save your breath. I already heard it from Jack.” He began taking off pieces of tac gear as McCree advanced on him, grabbing him by the shoulder—except this time he was quicker. He flung the offending hand away and whirled, facing McCree head-on like he was just another Talon operative to kill. “You want to do this now?”

“Yeah, I do.” McCree bristled into his personal space, chest almost flush with his, a big, brave cowboy with a bone to pick. Gabriel stared him down, but McCree didn’t waver. Wouldn’t either with how hot his eyes were blazing. “You’re gonna tell me, _right now_ , what you were thinkin’, killin’ Antonio like you did. We coulda gone in, snatched him and gotten out, just like we’d planned. Yet you decided to fuck it all up and bring a whole damn army on our heads.”

“My plan, my change,” Gabriel said with a shrug. 

McCree’s eyes blew wide open, his fists curling at his sides. “We could’ve _died_ , Gabriel. Wasn’t right, and you know that.”

“Did we?” Gabriel shot back. “You’re still breathing, aren’t you? So is Genji and Moira. We’re fine. _It’s fine._ ”

“Did Jack say it was _fine_? Pretty sure the Strike Commander took a larger chunk outta your ass than I’m gonna,” McCree hissed back. “Nothin’ about this is fine. It’s fuckin’ far from fine as it can be. What if people find out about us, huh? The UN? What then?”

“Let them come.”

“That ain’t the right attitude you should be havin’, damn it. There’s gonna be consequences. What you did was wrong and—“

“ _Wrong_? By whose standards? Yours? The boy I _rescued_ from a gang of murderers and thieves? You aren’t a fucking saint, Jesse. You were hocking stolen weapons to the highest bidder when I found you. Since when did you gain a sense of right and wrong?” 

“Since I met _you_. My question is, when the hell did you lose sight of right and wrong and justice, and everythin’ that makes you _you_?”

“When it got people _killed_ ,” Gabriel snarled and moved in closer. McCree stepped back once. “Do you know how many good people we lost in Rome? How many coffins Jack and I had to cover with flags? Too fucking many.” Gabriel ripped the beanie off his head and cut a hand over his shorn hair. “This isn’t just about your brand of justice, Jesse, but about _people_ , for fuck’s sake. _Lives_. I shot that asshole because he would’ve gotten away with killing those people, and he would’ve killed more.“

“You don’t know that.”

“That’s how it works,” Gabriel hissed. “That’s how life works for these assholes. Bringing him in and questioning him wasn’t going to do shit, we both knew that. That’s why I fucking shot him: to stop him from hurting more innocent lives— _that’s justice_ , Jesse. So if you think you can storm in here and get me to apologize for it, you’re wasting your time.” 

McCree stared at him for a long time. The air between them grew colder, hostile. McCree curled his lip back. “Hell, you still think you’re that goddamn hero from the Omnic Crisis, don’t you? Well, sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but you ain’t. You’re just an old soldier who’s lost his fuckin’ way. And to say I’m disappointed is a fuckin’ understatement.” 

“Jesse…” Gabriel warned.

“No, I ain’t done yet,” McCree cut in. “You’re wrong. You know why? Because killin’ Antonio won’t stop Talon from killin’ our people. It’ll be someone else, some other asshole who will crawl up through the cracks and fill his shoes. Except now, they’ll be more fuckin’ pissed than they were. I know that, you know that.”

“Then we’ll get rid of them too.”

“That’s _not_ how it works,” McCree shot back.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. The cut of McCree’s eyes down the length of his nose, his chin notched up just enough to be arrogant and spiteful—everything, to his posture, chest puffed out and spine straight, to the stern expression on his face, told him that Jesse McCree, in all his twenty-nine years of life, knew better than Gabriel did. Like Jesse was the one on higher moral ground. 

He laughed mirthlessly. “You know, Jesse. You sure do have a high opinion of yourself.”

“High standards—”

“Yeah? And how’s that working out for you?” Gabriel grabbed his arm and ripped back his sleeve. “You know Angela can remove this tattoo, yet you still have it. You’re still Deadlock with just a different patch on your shoulder.”

McCree locked his jaw and jerked his arm back, eyes wild with anger, teeth clenched when he hissed out, “Fuck you, Gabriel.” He took a steadying breath, then said, “Blackwatch ain’t nothin’ like Deadlock. We’re not—“

“Criminals? Dress it up however you want, kid. You want to think we’re heroes? Fine. Fact is, we do bad shit to people who deserve it, and if you can’t take that? Well… ” Gabriel motioned. “There’s the fucking door.”

“And just what in the hell are you sayin’?”

“Exactly what you think I mean,” Gabriel deadpanned, “Shit’s tough out there. If you can’t take the heat, then get out. I don’t want someone I can’t trust watching my back.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“You know I do.”

McCree studied him, and Gabriel watched his eyes trace over every angle of his face, as if searching for something he knew was long gone. His voice was hushed when he asked, “What happened to you, Gabriel? What happened to the man I fell in love with?”

“Life, Jesse. That’s what happened. _Life_ ,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Tough situations demand tough choices. I’m just the guy who has the balls enough to make them, and I will never apologize for that. So, you can either take that or leave it.”

“Don’t matter which, does it?” When Gabriel didn’t answer… “Beginnin’ to think we see the world in two different ways, and that maybe it’ll never add up in the end.”

“Maybe not.”

McCree took in a breath. “So, that’s it, then? You callin’ it quits?”

“I’m not the one who has a problem with what went on in there, Jesse. That’s on you.”

“What about us? We done too?” 

Their eyes met. There was a heavy, devastating pause, a finality hanging in the air like a guillotine above their necks. It said everything and nothing all at once. McCree nodded and stepped back once, twice. “I won’t be botherin’ you no more, then. I’ll stick around, but if you’re plannin’ on doin’ things like the shit you did today, count me out.” McCree backed away further, his face pinched tight. “Guess I’ll be seein’ you around, _commander_.”

Gabriel panicked when McCree turned away. _The end_ echoed fierce in his mind; the end of them, everything they had together, everything they worked for. No longer would he be able to wake up to Jesse’s smile, or the warmth of his body next to his own. They wouldn’t tease each other during missions, wouldn’t talk. Would Jesse even look at him? 

He jerked his arm out to catch Jesse, fingers folding gently around his wrist. McCree didn’t pull away. He stopped and looked at him over a shoulder. 

“Jesse, it doesn’t have to be this way.”

They considered each other for a while, then McCree said, “Maybe it’s for the best. ‘Cause ain’t no way in hell I’m gonna watch you destroy everythin’ you’ve worked so hard for. I can’t. I won’t. So, you gotta decide what’s more important: savin’ the world in the right way, or doin’ things that no good man would do.” 

Gabriel felt him pull away. Their fight seemed meaningless and stupid, and the thought of losing him, of never being able to touch him again or hold him in his arms— “Jesse… don’t leave…”

“And why shouldn’t I?”

“Because I can’t do this without you, you know that.” Gabriel sighed. “I can’t do ‘me’ if there’s no ‘you’.”

“That your way of apologizin’?”

Gabriel rubbed the inside of his wrist with his thumb and didn’t answer.

McCree exhaled hard through his nose. The way he held himself, no longer in attack mode, but bowed, betrayed his defeat. The last bit of fight left in him hardened his jaw line. Then, just as quickly, it melted away when Gabriel squeezed his wrist and tugged him closer. McCree stood unyielding beside him and only looked up from the floor when Gabriel cupped his face and swept his thumbs across his cheekbones. 

He should say something, Gabriel thought, promise to never disappoint him again by going against their plans, maybe, or kill unnecessarily. Anything he could to erase that frown off his face. But instead, he said nothing and kissed him, gentle on the lips. So unrushed, so chaste, that it was barely a kiss at all. Jesse leaned into it and touched their lips together more firmly, but just enough for contact, not anything less or more. A little hesitant, untrusting, and the thought of Jesse losing confidence in him hurt, so he made it up to him in the only other way he knew how. 

He slipped his hand to the back of his neck and pulled him in. The kiss deepened, but only a fraction. Jesse parted his lips and Gabriel indulged in them, slotting their mouths together like they were always meant to fit, kissing him until every breath caught in his throat. The anticipation of _more_ fluttered in his chest, heat beginning to pool in his gut. If Jesse wanted to take things slow, he would. If Jesse needed a thousand kisses to trust him again, he’d give them with such vigor that he’d break inside. A wounded noise rumbled in the back of his throat with how much Gabriel needed him right then, in his arms, like nothing had changed between them. Jesse responded with a dance of fingers along his spine; a whisper of warmth blooming in frigid winter.

It was encouraging, the change in him. From hard resistance to something more… Jesse. He’d become soft and pliable in his arms, just like he always had been, and Gabriel took a chance, flicking out his tongue. He teased the seal of Jesse’s lips, asking permission, and Jesse slackened his mouth, letting him inside. He tasted the subtle smokiness of whiskey, the spice of his cigar, and Gabriel wanted nothing more than to drown in it. Become so lost in Jesse that he’d never find himself again. He notched Jesse’s chin up to get a better angle and kissed him with every ounce of love he had. He gave himself wholly over to it, and Jesse couldn’t help but lean against him for support, so overwhelmed, maybe, that he’d lost the strength in his legs. 

They stood there, kissing, searching, mapping out old and new ground. The people they’d been before the mission were different now, and every kiss seemed to discover more and more uncharted territory. Gabriel held him close and swore to never let go, and Jesse finally wrapped his arms around him, squeezing tightly. A prickle of emotion tugged at his chest. Everything—Jesse’s weight against him, their kiss, their love—felt like forgiveness. 

He swore, too, to never hurt Jesse ever again.

Jesse inched his fingers under his sweatshirt and his tight black T-shirt to skirt light fingertips against his skin. He jerked Jesse closer and kissed him hard on the mouth when an index finger and thumb tweaked his right nipple. His cock hardened against Jesse’s thigh, throbbing and impatient. It went ignored while Jesse touched him, light and sparingly across his abs, up through the dusting of hair on his chest. Jesse pinched the other nipple, and Gabriel sucked at Jesse’s lower lip, teething it gently. He wanted to fuck Jesse in that moment, but Jesse took it slow, almost cautious, like this was his first time. So Gabriel slowed it down for him, choked down his desperation, and let Jesse search his skin through touch. Fingers traced over the flat, muscled plane of his stomach, down to jut of his hip. Jesse swept a thumb over it and sought his mouth for another kiss. It was hard against his lips, Jesse’s tongue eager to claim, with a hint of desperation that Gabriel swallowed down like he was starving. Those devilish fingers slipped between his skin and the hem of his pants, just enough to tease the head of his cock. His hips bucked into Jesse’s touch, purely reflexive, and Jesse smiled against his lips. The kind of smile that meant Jesse was up to no good. That Gabriel would suffer.

The tips of his fingers ran down the length of his cock, then back up to the tip, pressing into the slit. Gabriel whispered, “ _Fuck_ ,” against Jesse’s mouth and took a deep, hurried breath, then kissed him hard, desperate. Jesse kissed back with the same amount of passion, need, while cupping him just so. It was barely enough friction to keep him satisfied, and Gabriel pressed into Jesse’s hand, rutting against it while hooking Jesse around the waist. He yanked him in, kissed him more, and Jesse dared to chuckle against his mouth. “Someone’s needy.”

“I’ve never needed you more, Jesse,” he whispered back, pressing kisses against his neck.

That earned him a loose curl of fingers to fuck into, and Gabriel angled his hips up slowly, then down just as gradually, teasing himself because that was all he deserved. He latched onto Jesse’s neck, sucking red blossoms into his skin, and rocked into Jesse as much as he’d allow. Jesse tightened his fingers with a soft _ngh_ , and Gabriel pistoned his hips a little harder, letting Jesse’s hand slip down his shaft to the root, then back up to the tip. There, he pumped with shallow thrusts, the head of him just breaching Jesse’s fist, driving himself crazy because he knew Jesse loved it. Because after all that, Gabriel deserved to be tortured.

Real torture came when Jesse pulled his hand away completely.

Gabriel opened his mouth to protest, but Jesse was quicker, shutting him up with a kiss. There was a hunger to it that set Gabriel back on his heels, and Jesse took advantage of his surprise, walking them backward toward and onto the bed. Tac gear bit into Gabriel’s back, and with a swift sweep of his arm, everything tumbled to the floor, forgotten. As Gabriel backed up using his elbows, Jesse chased him up the bed, then straddled him, hips bracketed by Jesse’s thighs. Clothes were tugged off and thrown aside, laying bare acres of scarred skin. Gabriel slid a flat palm from Jesse’s abs to his chest, the cut of his muscles coiled tight under his touch. He traced hairline scars over Jesse’s pecs, along his ribs, the divot of a gunshot wound he’d gotten in Belarus. He pulled Jesse down to mouth every imperfection, soothing and peppering them with worship. Jesse, his Jesse, the only man he’d ever get on his knees for, the only religion he’d ever know.

He was left naked and cold when Jesse pulled away, when the nightstand drawer opened and closed. In the dark, a cap popped, then Gabriel felt something blunt and probing at his hole. One of Jesse’s fingers circled his tight ring of muscle, and Gabriel spread his legs and angled his hips, just so he could give all of himself over. He craved it and let Jesse know by letting out a soft noise, inched down eagerly, needing Jesse inside him. A finger slipped in and curled, sending Gabriel up off the mattress with Jesse’s name on his lips. Jesse fucked him with it, then two, the stretch breathtaking in its familiarity, its comfort. Unfamiliar was the way Jesse crowded in on him, half on top, half at his side, kissing him deep and long, fingering him like that too was an act of lovemaking. His schedule, missions, debriefings—it never left them with enough time for anything other than a quick fuck. He wondered then if the shitstorm in Venice hadn’t been, in many ways, a good thing. 

What didn’t kill them only made them stronger, together. 

Their mouths met under the heat of their passion, Jesse’s fingers inside him, in and out, smooth as silk. Gabriel cupped his cheek while he kissed him, hand slipping to the back of his neck. Their kiss grew more feverish, Jesse’s fingers fucking him quicker, harder. Gabriel gripped his hair and groaned against his mouth, the smell of their sweat, their sex, thick in the air. Jesse pressed inside deeper, curling his fingers, spots sparking behind Gabriel’s eyelids. Heat pooled in his gut and began building, building. If this was how he’d come, with Jesse fucking him raw with only his fingers—

“Fuck,” was the only thing he could murmur when Jesse pulled out suddenly. The cap popped again, and then Jesse was on top of him, lining up and pushing in. His slick cock breached his hole and Gabriel arched his back, calling out his name, reveling in the harsh burn of the stretch. The finger fucking did nothing to prepare him for Jesse’s thick girth, his length, or how fucking good it felt. The pain, the pleasure, Jesse’s weight heavy on his body, almost crushing him into the mattress… it was heaven in his life of hell, and Jesse was his savior.

Jesse set the pace once he was fully inside him. It was slow, gentle, a lovemaking they’d shared so rarely that Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time. They kissed, and Gabriel fell to Jesse’s slow thrusts, his cock slipping out to the head, then fully inside again, over and over. Not the hard fucking he was used to, but giving and loving, like they had all the time in the world. When Jesse pulled out to the head and fucked him with the shallow push of his hips, Gabriel panted out his name, kissed him, ran his hands up and down his body. Then, Jesse shoved in deeper, harder, just a few times, before returning to that slower, more gentle pace. Jesse interchanged the rhythm, lovemaking to fucking, again and again, and drove Gabriel crazy with each thrust. His climax grew under his steady force, threatening to overtake him, and when it almost did, when he’d almost crested, Jesse stopped completely. Gabriel forced out a low whine. 

For a moment, they put their foreheads together and just breathed the same air. Gabriel threaded fingers through Jesse’s hair, lavishing him with light touches along his spine, his ass, anywhere he could touch. The kiss Jesse gave him made him whole, and Gabriel melted in his arms. He wanted this forever, just them like this, touching, their bodies pressed together, and he’d sacrifice anything to keep it.

Jesse picked the pace back up again. Their lovemaking was a gentle rocking of hips, Jesse pushing deeper and deeper, but with no malice behind it. No traces of the Jesse he’d met when they faced off in Venice, none of the vicious attitude he spat at him during their escape. Just Jesse, his Jesse, as light and sweet as summer air, warm as sunshine. Jesse kissed him with a sort of passion that took his breath away, and Gabriel murmured his name against his lips. He asked for forgiveness again in the way he spread for him, in the way he let Jesse take every inch he could give. The lovemaking faded away to desperation, Jesse groaning with every hard, brutal thrust. He was dizzy with it, consumed with everything Jesse. He forgot how to breathe, took a gasping breath as Jesse jerked into him. So close.. just there…

“Jesse… _f_ — _fuck_.”

Gabriel kissed him again, grabbed two handfuls of ass and jerked him deeper inside. A groan rumbled in Jesse’s chest, and Jesse pinned Gabriel’s hands above his head and fucked him hard, quick, chasing an orgasm just out of his reach. The heat burned in his gut like molten lava, his thighs quaked, chest heaving. Gabriel angled his hips upward, spread wider, arching his back… Jesse bit into his neck, and Gabriel seized up, shocked—the nip of his teeth, the slip and slide of Jesse’s cock stretching his hole wide, and without mercy—

He came with a shout, hooking fingernails into Jesse’s skin. Jesse hissed and slammed into him, once, twice, then stilled while his orgasm hit him and he groaned into Gabriel’s skin. Hot liquid filled him up and Jesse soothed his abused mouth with a kiss, keeping his cock inside him until it softened, until he had no other choice but to pull out. They kept kissing, unable to stop, and spent gentle touches over each other’s body. In Jesse’s eyes, he could see it; warmth, devotion, forgiveness, and the world aligned because Jesse McCree still loved him.

The next morning, Gabriel woke to an empty bed and his heart shattered to pieces.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <33


End file.
